Road Trippin'
by Eiridian
Summary: Spontaneously leaving town for a bit to escape and rediscover yourself is always better with a partner.


Title song by Dan + Shay

Mentioned songs: _Hoodie_ by Hey Violet, _Wanted_ by Hunter Hayes, _Just A Phase_ by Adam Craig

* * *

 **Road Trippin'**

"I'm ho-" The key had barely been removed from the lock when the words suffered an untimely death in Hizashi's throat as he stood at the front door staring at the scene in front of him. Aizawa Shouta, Hizashi's boyfriend of fifteen years (ie, literally half of his time on Earth), was standing in their living room waiting with his arms crossed, a murderous expression on his face, and several packed bags surrounding him on the floor. "Have...have I done something to upset you?" Hizashi slowly closed the front door behind him, frantically wracking his brain for anything that he might have done in the past few days to piss his partner off to the point of leaving him.

"We're going on a trip." Shouta's voice was short as he stepped forward to grab Hizashi's hands and pull him towards the bedroom.

"We're...what?" Hizashi was so lost as he let himself be manhandled over to their closet, Shouta letting out an impatient huff before he switched on the light and began rummaging.

"We're getting out of here for a few days. Don't know where, don't know how long, but we're not answering our phones unless it's an absolute emergency." Shouta began throwing clothing items over his shoulder in Hizashi's general direction. "I've already packed everything that we'll need. Get changed." It was an order given in a stern, grumpier-than-usual tone before Shouta left the room.

There were many questions that Hizashi could have asked, such as what the hell had happened to cause his introverted lover who'd rather cut his own arm off than leave their apartment on a Friday night to suddenly decide to up and leave town for a bit. It was so spontaneous and so not like him. UA was closed for the summer in between terms, so at least they didn't have teaching duties to worry about dodging, but they were heroes 24/7 and just dropping off of the grid was practically unheard of in their world. Knowing the reputation that Eraserhead had built for himself when he got pissed, however, Hizashi had a feeling that their colleagues would actually leave them alone if they had been properly threatened.

Shedding his hero support gear and clothing, Hizashi happily pulled on his favorite pair of holey jeans that he'd had since they graduated from UA. Carrying one of his old faded band shirts with him to the bathroom, the blond made quick work of rinsing all of the product out of his hair in the shower before blow drying it back to its normal silky texture as it reached nearly to his waist. Snatching a hair tie from the pile on his side of the vanity, Hizashi made his way back to the living room as he pulled his shirt on.

Dark eyes that permanently appeared tired turned towards him as he reappeared looking more like a normal person and less like the loud mouthed hero that most of the world knew him as. Shaking his head slightly as he took in Hizashi's appearance, Shouta disappeared back the way his boyfriend had come from for a moment as curious green eyes watched him go. When the shorter man returned carrying a pair of simple wire rimmed glasses in his hands Hizashi realized with embarrassment that his vision actually was a bit fuzzy without their normal aid.

"Silly blond." Shouta admonished fondly as he slipped the glasses onto said blond's face. "You'd forget your head some mornings if it wasn't attached."

Hizashi grabbed a hold of Shouta before he could move too far away to plant a kiss of thanks on his cheek, chuckling at the uncomfortable squirming his action elicited. "That's why I keep you around." Hizashi winked, graciously taking the thump to his chest as Shouta moved around him to grab their bags. "Wait, what about Toshi?" Suddenly remembering that they had a pet, Hizashi spun around looking for any sign of their gray kitty.

"Yagi's watching her, come on." Shouta was getting impatient as he shoved a couple of bags into Hizashi's chest before pushing him out of the apartment.

They owned an old baby blue jeep that they'd pooled their money to buy at the end of school. Hizashi was the mechanically inclined one of the two, which hadn't surprised Shouta at all, and he'd worked on their ride for a few months to fix it up and get it running smoothly again. The jeep had its issues every now and then, but Hizashi enjoyed pulling his hair up and donning his old ratty work clothes to get a little greasy when his baby needed attention. It was a good hobby to help him de-stress from the craziness of hero work and usually he'd be able to talk Shouta into keeping him company outside while he worked and the other man lounged in the backseat with a book.

Tossing their bags into the trunk before hopping into the front seats with Shouta behind the wheel and Hizashi riding shotgun (because Hizashi had attention span issues and Shouta had trust issues), the blond was starting to thrum with the excitement of an impromptu adventure. The fatigue from the day was set aside for the moment as Hizashi buckled himself in and turned eager eyes to Shouta, who was taking a much more leisurely time getting himself settled in and fastened.

"So where are we going?" Dark eyes shot the bouncing blond a look from their corners before the question was ignored in favor of starting the car. "Come on, Shouta, I know you. You always have a plan. There's no way we're just driving aimlessly for days." Hizashi wheedled as their baby hummed to life and Shouta smoothly backed out of their parking spot.

The only answer that Hizashi got was a map thrust in his face, which he took without question to spread out in his lap. They did this on the very rare occasions that Shouta took them somewhere without telling Hizashi where, it was both a way for Shouta to get some peace and quiet and for Hizashi to have something to occupy himself with. Paying attention to road signs and street names, the usually hyperactive blond would track their route and try to guess where they were headed.

With his map at the ready for when curiosity over their destination took him, Hizashi began fiddling with the radio dial with one hand while rolling his window down with the other. It was a gorgeous summer afternoon and if he could help it he preferred the wind over air conditioning, even if it made it so that he had to crank the radio up to be able to hear the music over the rushing sound. Shouta had learned a long time ago to just put up with it. Temporarily settling on a station even though he still frowned a bit at not finding the _right_ sound, Hizashi started nosing through the glove department where they kept their collection of CDs.

"It's almost like the good old days at the radio station." Hizashi laughed as he settled back in his chair to flip through the disks.

"You mean your late night radio show that only about ten people were awake to listen to?" Shouta dodged the offended swat to his head with a smug smirk.

"Ten very dedicated people, thank you very much." The pout causing Hizashi's lower lip to jut out was duly ignored as Shouta got them on the highway. Shouta would probably take it with him to the grave before he told Hizashi that during the blond's short stint as a late night radio regular he'd been going through a phase of insomnia and would be one of those ten listeners just because listening to Hizashi's voice helped him sleep.

Taking pity on his sulking boyfriend, Shouta reached over to press one of the radio's preset buttons even as he braced himself to regret it. Hizashi perked up so fast it was almost comical when he heard the song that was playing and Shouta was worried for a moment that their CDs were gonna get thrown out the window in his excitement.

"I'm still rockin' your hoodie, and chewing on the strings. It makes me think about you so I wear it when I sleep." Hizashi was beside himself as he turned the song up and sang along, wiggling in his seat as he tucked the CDs away for later.

The car was filled with thumping music and Hizashi's smooth voice for the next hour as he sang along to every song that came on, leaned back in his seat with his feet up on the dash and eyes closed in utter contentment. Keeping his eyes diligently on the road but sneaking glances every so often, Shouta silently marveled at the incredible talent that his blond had. Although his singing voice was amazing, Hizashi was actually super shy about it and always used his normal voice even when actively using his quirk. As a person whose quirk was his voice it was quite possible that Hizashi would pack a harder punch if he tried singing, but until the day that he couldn't take someone down by yelling he'd keep his singing voice to himself and Shouta.

Hizashi somehow managed to turn his voice into a gravelly growl for the rock songs, a lulling lilt for country, and then minutes later flip a 180 to sing along to some bubble pop song. Hizashi had the kind of voice that could make the crappiest of Shouta's days brighter regardless of rambunctious teenagers, conceited villains, mountains of paperwork, or just people in general. All it took was one song for the stress to seep out of Shouta's shoulders and back, and some days he'd turn the radio on even if they were staying in just because he knew his boyfriend wouldn't be able to resist singing along. It wasn't something that he'd ever admitted and he probably never would, but the small smile that Hizashi gave him whenever the radio turned on told him that he didn't need to.

They pulled off the highway when their stomachs told them to and ended up in a no name town so tiny that Hizashi had to pull the map up to his face to find it. It took less than five minutes to enter and then exit the town, during which they passed numerous well kept houses, an old gas station, a general store, and a solitary restaurant/bar that looked family run. Clambering out of the car with stiff joints, the two of them took a moment to stretch and take a look around the main street. There were quite a few people milling about, some chatting outside the general store and others walking down the sidewalk while waving to everyone they passed. It was a quiet, laid back place and a nice change from the bustling city they were used to.

Dressed in normal clothes and sans any hero gear they were just Aizawa-san and Yamada-san, out of town visitors looking for a bite to eat. It was refreshing to not be instantly recognized and to be treated like any other person in the place. They sat at the bar because Hizashi loved talking to people and Shouta loved the occasional respites when Hizashi's attention was focused on someone else. They shared a delicious homemade meal of fresh fish caught that morning atop a bed of seasoned rice and local vegetables as Hizashi chatted animatedly with the two elder men sitting beside him.

The locals were more than happy to share stories of the town's history and their families in return for news from the city. Hizashi introduced himself and Shouta as teachers on vacation, which seemed to surprise the old men who chuckled merrily into their drinks.

"You, I could see as a teacher if you were dressed up more, but your silent friend over there..." The smaller of the two men, who looked like a good strong wind would knock him over, teased with good humor.

"Ah, I can see how Aizawa-sensei comes off as aloof and unapproachable." Hizashi laughed, his point only made clearer by Shouta blatantly ignoring the entire conversation revolving around him in favor of staring at the small television behind the counter. "He's very good with the students, though, and as a matter of fact he's trusted with teaching the most impressionable first years."

It was hard for Hizashi to keep the pride out of his voice, even as an elbow subtly nudged into his side as Shouta eavesdropped for a moment. His words were absolutely true, despite Shouta's reluctance to take any credit. UA took its selection in teachers incredibly seriously considering they'd be guiding the next generation of heroes tasked with protecting the peace. Both he and Shouta had been offered positions at the same time, but it was no random coincidence that Shouta had been assigned to teach 1-A while Hizashi got 2-A. Shouta was a stern but caring individual when it came to his students. He didn't hesitate to expel anyone who he could tell didn't have what it took to be a pro hero, even going as far as cutting an entire class one year, and it usually ended up for the best as the students discovered something else that they were meant to do. On the other hand, if he got his hands on someone that showed promise he would go beyond the extra mile to encourage growth and challenge their limits. Shouta never failed to send competent, exemplary heroes-to-be to Hizashi after their year with him.

Even with his outward appearance of being a lazy, uncaring man, all of Shouta's students that met his standards adored him. On one memorable occasion Uraraka had even gone to Aizawa-sensei for relationship advice, which still cracked Hizashi up every time he recalled the horrified expression that had spread over his boyfriend's face when faced with the trusting eyes of a teenaged girl.

Then there was the time that Midoriya had sought Shouta out in the teachers' office to ask a question about something that they had covered in class and the conversation had somehow veered off-course. With embarrassment tinging his voice and cheeks, Midoriya had carefully checked to make sure Toshinori wasn't in the room before asking his sensei if he thought it was okay for a crybaby to become a hero.

"Yes." There was no hesitation in the firm response that Shouta gave his student before looking straight into unsure eyes. "There is no shame in crying. I've seen some of the best heroes that I know cry." Dark eyes glanced for a second at Hizashi sitting at his desk behind Midoriya, sending him a look filled with a world of words in less than a second before turning back to the boy standing in front of him.

Hizashi had to excuse himself from the room as he tried to will the painful tightness in his chest away at the memory of that night years ago when he'd watched Hise die and had cried like a baby while Shouta held him. It had been the first time that he cried like that in front of someone else, and of course it just had to be the guy he had the biggest crush on. It had been both the most embarrassing and most liberating experience to let himself become that vulnerable.

"You okay?" Shouta's voice had been apologetic when he sought Hizashi out in the hallway he'd hidden away in. Hizashi let out a sniffle as he felt a couple of tears run down his cheeks despite his emotional wounds having healed years ago. Wiping the moisture away with a shaky chuckle, Hizashi had smiled shyly at his worried boyfriend.

"I'm one of the best heroes that you know?"

* * *

After finishing and paying for their meal, Hizashi and Shouta had taken a slow stroll through the town to walk a bit of their post-meal coma off as the sun began to set. Hopping back in the jeep, they drove just a few minutes out of town to where one of their dinner companions had told them was a large empty field that the town's teenagers camped out in a lot. The field had once been used to grow crops, but the farmer that owned it had grown too old and had no children so he let nature reclaim the field and allowed people to use it at their leisure. There was a small pond sitting in the middle of the field and, according to the chatty old men, at this time of year the tadpoles had grown up and the fish were aplenty.

Parking the jeep a ways away from the road, Shouta had opened the trunk before searching for a specific bag while Hizashi watched on with bemusement.

"You brought a tent, didn't you?" It wasn't really a question and Shouta didn't give a verbal answer. "And that damn sleeping bag of yours." Sometimes Hizashi was torn between laughing at his boyfriend's eccentricities and questioning his own sanity for having stayed with a living eccentricity for so long.

"I brought a double sleeping bag." Shouta was quick to correct as he grabbed the two largest bags they had and closed the trunk with a thunk.

Pitching the tent went smoothly enough between the two of them, and by the time night fell they had a mini camp all set up, cozy campfire and all. Thin wisps of cigarette smoke wafted skyward along with the woody campfire smoke as Hizashi gazed up at the billions of stars that were beginning to appear. Living in the city, it was impossible to see even a tiny fraction of the stars that were spread out before him now with all the light pollution and tall buildings hindering the view. Childlike wonder filled Hizashi's body as he lost himself in that white speckled abyss, the crackling of the fire and the weight of Shouta's body leaning into his the only things grounding him to Earth.

Flipping through some thriller horror novel of his as he relaxed with his back against Hizashi's side, Shouta found his fingers idly tapping the pages of his book in time with the music flowing out of the cassette player sitting beside him. Relics from their school days, both the cassette player and the number of mixtapes that they accumulated had survived the years due to neither of them having the heart to throw out the memories. The tapes were usually broken out on lazy nights like this when The Goo Goo Dolls, U2, Coldplay, and the like were what they needed to unwind.

As his book fell into a lull in the story, Shouta began reflecting on those two old men happily going on and on about their lives and a thought suddenly came to him. Placing his book down in his lap and leaning his head back, it took Shouta a few nudges to Hizashi's shoulder for him to steal the blond's attention back from the heavens above them. Bright green eyes were shades darker in the shadow of the fire's light as they glanced down with an unvoiced question in their depths.

"What did you want to be when you were a kid?"

Surprise was written all over Hizashi's face as he very obviously began shuffling back in his memory banks to find out if they'd ever discussed that question before. No matter how hard Hizashi thought about it he could not recall that question ever coming up. Thinking on it, it was odd that in all the years they'd been together and of all the things they'd shared with each other they never talked about their dreams when they were young.

"I wanted to be a pilot." Hizashi finally responded, grinning as he watched Shouta's eyebrows raise at that answer. "That was my backup plan if I couldn't cut it as a hero." Hizashi clarified as he turned his body and readjusted them so that Shouta's head was now resting in his lap as he crossed his legs, the fire now on both of their rights. "How about you, Eraserhead?"

"I wanted to be a teacher." Shouta's answer was already prepared and fell easily from his lips even though Hizashi began laughing in disbelief. "Hey," a sharp tug at Hizashi's ponytail emphasized Shouta's annoyance at the reaction.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, I promise. I'm just imagining a tiny Shouta playing school with his stuffed animals, asking them questions and calling on them to answer and that is just adora- ow! Okay, okay, I'm done, stop!" Sharp pinches to Hizashi's side had him squirming and giggling, trying to get away while also trying not to jostle his attacker's head too much.

Ceasing his attack with a grumble, Shouta plucked the cigarette from Hizashi's lax fingers to take a few drags as peace fell back over them. Long fingers were combing through Shouta's hair and making him sleepy as the warm summer night soothed over him. Relinquishing the cigarette back to Hizashi and settling back into his book, Shouta hadn't gotten even two lines in before Hizashi jostled him again as he gasped in excitement.

"Shouta, it's our song!" As if the voice right in his ear hadn't gotten his attention there was also a hand smacking his head as well. "Do you remember? It's the first one I ever sang to you!" Hizashi was getting to the level of excitement that could bruise, and in the interest of protecting his head Shouta grabbed onto the hand still tapping him.

"Yes, I remember. No need to damage me." Pulling Hizashi's hand to his chest and attempting to return to his reading was futile from the get go.

"It worked better than wolf-whistling did."

"You did it in the middle of the school yard with everyone around."

"You didn't have to throw a book at my face!"

"You deserved it."

"But it hurt!"

"That was kind of the point of aiming for your face."

"Hise assured me it would work."

"I do not doubt that at all."

"You were blushing so hard, it was the cutest-"

"Don't make me throw another book at you."

Their playful back and forth banter was cut off when Hizashi leaned down to give Shouta an awkward but sweet upside down kiss that left them both laughing at the weird angle. Nuzzling his nose against Shouta's, his hands framing the face in his lap, Hizashi began to softly sing along with the song.

"You know I'd fall apart without you. I don't know how you do what you do. 'Cause everything that don't make sense about me makes sense when I'm with you."

"Like everything that's green, girl, I need you, but it's more than one and one makes two." Hizashi jolted back with his eyes wide and jaw slack. Never in all the years that he had known the man in his lap had he ever heard Shouta sing. Dark brown eyes twinkled merrily back at unblinking green as Shouta reached a hand up to brush over Hizashi's eyes and force him to blink. He knew he didn't have the best singing voice, it was too naturally raspy to really sound good, but Hizashi's reaction was kind of worth it.

It happened several days after the wolf-whistling/book throwing incident. After being embarrassed in front of the entire school and thoroughly telling that annoying kid Yamada where he could shove it, Shouta had taken to lying even lower than he usually did as people whispered and snickered about him. The library had been relatively safe since all of the book nerds didn't care about school gossip and Shouta could exist in relative peace, so he spent quite a lot of time there both during and after school.

After spending an extra couple of hours after school hiding amongst the books while his classmates slowly trickled home, Shouta had reemerged and was walking through the deserted courtyard when his ears picked up the smooth sound of acoustic guitar strings. Perking his head up from staring at his feet, dark eyes scanned the area until they found a splash of UA's gray uniform hiding behind a bush. As he cautiously stepped towards the source of the sound he realized that there was a voice singing along with the guitar.

"Put aside the math and the logic of it, you gotta know you want it, too."

Shouta had heard that annoying, brazenly loud voice deafen his ears every day and thought that he knew every way that it could sound. He thought that he had that abrasive blond all figured out and pinned down. He was mistaken. Yamada, royal douche extraordinaire, was leaned back against the school building with a guitar in his lap and the softest smile that Shouta had yet seen on anyone. It was also the first time that Shouta had seen him without those stupid orange sunglasses on and it was startling how green his eyes were.

"'Cause I wanna wrap you up, wanna kiss your lips, I wanna make you feel wanted." A sharp twang and abrupt silence jolted Shouta out of his thoughts to see those green, green eyes staring at him in shock. "Shou- uh, I mean, Aizawa. I, uh," Yamada scrambled to his feet as pink dusted his cheeks and those eyes averted from Shouta's. "I want to apologize for the other day. I was...very inappropriately misguided and I didn't mean to embarrass you like that. I'm sorry." Cocky, assholey Yamada looked sincerely sorry as he bowed before glancing up through his lashes, nibbling nervously on his bottom lip.

It was cute, much as Shouta hated admitting that anything about Yamada could be considered cute, and the silent resentment he'd been harboring for the blond started to fizzle away back into the universe. Deciding that it took far more effort than he was willing to put forth to remain bitter about The Incident, Shouta dropped his school bag on the grass and plopped himself down next to Yamada's feet before pulling out a book and finding his place. Awkwardly gripping the neck of his guitar and staring down at the undeniably odd teenager that was now sitting beside him, Yamada was wondering what that reaction meant in response to his apology and what he should do about it.

"Your voice is actually not bad when you're not shouting and running your mouth. You should continue." Shouta didn't take his eyes off of the printed words in front of him nor did he raise his voice above its normal disinterested volume, so he missed the twisting of Yamada's lips as grateful happiness lit up his eyes. Sitting back down, a little closer than acquaintances would but still with a gap between their knees, Yamada resettled his guitar and resumed his strumming.

"And I wanna call you mine, wanna hold your hand forever, and never let you forget. Yeah, I wanna make you feel wanted."

It was the first time that Hizashi would see that secretive little smile flit across Shouta's lips and the first time he truly felt his heart stutter in his chest. Fast forward fifteen years to the fireside in the middle of a deserted rural field and Hizashi's heart was doing that violent tumbling thing in his chest again. It was crazy, insane, and downright ridiculous that Shouta could still do that to him, but he'd never want it any other way.

"'Cause you'll always be wanted." Finishing the song with a long, slow kiss that didn't want to end, Hizashi felt like a nervous fifteen year old teenager stumbling clumsily into love all over again. Elation and nerves and so much warmth filled him that even the heat of the fire paled in comparison.

"You romantic sap." Shouta teased once they'd separated again, his hand now tangled up in Hizashi's loose hair with two hair ties slipped around his wrist. Hizashi hadn't even noticed his sneaky boyfriend taking his hair tie out. Sitting up and turning around so that they were facing each other, Shouta leaned in to initiate a proper kiss that didn't have them fiddling with angles and positioning of faces. "You ready for bed?"

Green eyes lit up in excitement. "Can we-?"

"No." Shouta didn't even wait for the whole question as he put his book and the cassette player away before dousing their fire. "We are not having sex in the sleeping bag. It will be hot and messy and we are not soiling the only thing we have to sleep in." With a tired groan and a quick stretch to crack his back, Shouta crawled into the tent utterly uncaring of the giant pout being aimed at him.

Just as Hizashi was debating staying where he was in the dark to sulk, an exasperated huff floated out from the tent flap before Shouta's disembodied voice added, "Although I wouldn't be opposed to sex on top of the sleeping bag."

A startled yelp broke the peace of the night as Hizashi dove headfirst into the tent.

* * *

Dawn had barely broken when a blond head of sleep mussed locks poked out from the tent, peering blearily out into the early morning mist as a hand blindly reached up to try and rub some of the sleep away. The crickets and frogs were finally asleep and an ethereal hush had fallen over the field that Hizashi found himself enjoying as he laid back down on his stomach, his head and shoulders outside of the tent. Dark ash and burnt out embers were all that was left of their fire from the night before, and as Hizashi stared into their dark depths he felt his eyes drifting closed again as sleep threatened to pull him back in.

A heavy weight draping over his back shooed sleep away and drew out an irritated grumble as a green eye cracked open. Black hair, also messed up from sleep and other activities, was all up in Hizashi's face as Shouta's head was flopped on his shoulder as dead weight.

"You stole my shirt." Shouta mumbled, sounding like sleep was trying to reclaim him as well.

"Finders keepers." Craning his neck up at a painful angle for a second to place a kiss on whatever part of his boyfriend he could reach before slumping back down, Hizashi heaved a heavy sigh as his mind slowly began to clear away the cobwebs of sleep. "It's gonna be hot today, I can feel it. What I wouldn't give for a nice shower right now."

"There's the pond. You always said you wanted to skinny dip sometime in your life." Shouta pointed out, his arms wrapping around Hizashi's waist contradicting his words encouraging them to get up and moving.

"It's daylight, people could see!" The audacity of his normally conservative partner's words actually got Hizashi a little excited as he raised them up to be supported on his forearms.

"It's barely daylight." Shouta corrected as he rolled off of Hizashi's back onto the ground to blink up at him. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Well, then. If there was one thing that Hizashi didn't ignore very well it was a challenge, and Shouta knew that. That's how they ended up stripping down naked and running through the fog to jump into the cool water of the pond. Several frogs leaped away in fear as dark shadows of fish darted away, but the two men paid them no mind as they splashed at each other and washed themselves up.

Brilliant foresight had made Shouta pack towels that the two of them happily utilized after extricating their chilling bodies from the water. Dressing in amicable silence, Hizashi was thrilled to find his shortest pair of shorts that Shouta would allow him to wear in public packed in among their clothes. Pulling them on along with a simple white t-shirt, Hizashi was ready for the scorcher he was sure the day would be.

After packing their campsite back into their trunk they were on the road again. The decision to stay off of the highway for a while and instead enjoy the small towns along the way gave Hizashi the chance to really follow their route on his map as well as come up with several inventive car games.

"We've gotta find street signs that begin with every letter of the alphabet!"

"First one to see a purple house wins!"

"First person to count ten cows wins!"

"Whoever can get this slow ass old person to move faster wins…"

They stopped at a small breakfast stand in the second town they came to and bought an assortment of different buns that they ate while sitting on the hood of their car, watching the sun make its climb into the sky as they chatted about random things. Stealing the map from Hizashi for a moment, Shouta stared at their route with the nosy blond peeking over his shoulder trying to guess where they were headed.

The radio was back on as they drove through town after town, stopping a few times when a local shop would catch Hizashi's eye. They ended up in a glass figurine shop, Shouta suspected the brightness of the sun reflecting off of all that glass had been the attractant, and bought a cat figurine for Toshinori in thanks for watching Toshi. They stopped at a local tea shop and sampled some of their in-house brews before Shouta decided on a couple that he wanted to add to their stock. There was also the wool and yarn shop that had baffled Shouta to no end, especially since Hizashi seemed very serious about checking out the wares. When Hizashi finally settled on a pair of super long scarves that felt like they had been made with chinchilla fur, one navy blue and the other emerald green, Shouta finally understood and had to roll his eyes a bit in reluctant fondness. Hizashi _had_ always been trying to talk him into wearing a normal scarf during the winter months.

They stopped at a ramen shop for lunch, each receiving a generously large bowl of steaming hot ramen that they happily slurped down before seeking out a gas station. Shouta had very intentionally given Hizashi cash rather than card to buy them some drinks and snacks for the afternoon while he filled up their tank. Knowing his boyfriend, he would have bought half of the store if given the funds to do so. Returning nearly ten minutes later with a plastic bag full of gummy candies, pretzels, soda and tea, Hizashi looked mightily proud of himself with a popsicle in his mouth and holding another one for Shouta along with several coins in change.

As the sun beat down on the dark asphalt, proving Hizashi right in his prediction of a hotter than usual day, the tall blond somehow managed to comfortably curl himself up in the passenger seat and doze off against his half-closed window. Hizashi was like a sunflower, Shouta reflected as he glanced over at his snoozing passenger. He loved the warmth of the sun, no matter the season or how hot or cold it was out, and he always sought it out when he could. There were so many memories that Shouta had of finding his boyfriend curled up on their couch with Toshi on a lazy weekend afternoon bathed in sunlight and fast asleep. Hizashi was definitely like their cat, or one of the sunflowers that grew outside their apartment building, or maybe even like the sun itself.

With the chatterbox knocked out and only the radio for company, Shouta continued guiding their car forwards down winding country roads and fields of crops as he let his mind relax and wander. It really had been an insanely hectic few weeks that they were coming off of with work piling on top of them from multiple directions, and although Hizashi could handle stress as easily as he laughed at dumb jokes it had been testing Shouta's absolute limit when it came to patience and tolerance. After just a day out on the road with Hizashi and most of the stress had melted away for a comforting peace to take its place. Shouta needed this, in more ways than one.

Shouta didn't notice the darkening of the skies above him until the gentle pattering of raindrops on the windshield brought his attention back from wherever it had gone off to. The light summer shower quickly turned into a downpour that forced Shouta to pull the car over to the side of the road as visibility ceased to exist. A snuffle from beside him signaled that the pounding rain had awoken Hizashi from his slumber as he glanced out the window that Shouta was leaning over him to roll up.

"Oh. Look at that. It's raining." Intelligent as ever right after waking up, that was his Hizashi.

"We'll just wait until it lightens up." Shouta had put the car in park and killed the ignition before leaning back in his chair and letting his eyes flutter closed.

"Or…" Shouta's eyes snapped back open at the drawn out word. "We could get out and go dancing in the rain." There was a devilish child that always lurked just behind those mischievous green eyes and it was times like this that Shouta was reminded of his existence.

"Hizashi, you are a grown man who is...already out of the car and getting rained on…" Groaning and thumping his forehead against the steering wheel, Shouta had to remind himself that Hizashi was actually the older one in this relationship and that he himself was not, in fact, raising a child even if it sometimes seemed like it. "And I'm the idiot in love with you so I guess I'm getting out of the car, too."

The stifling heat of the day was actually bearable with the thundering rain cooling the air down. Shouta was soaked within moments as he kicked his shoes off to throw back into the car before following the peals of gleeful laughter. Rounding the car to bear witness to the sight awaiting him was worth every breath that he had ever taken in his life. Golden blond hair had been darkened to a light caramel as it was drenched and had tumbled out of its messy bun to hang in a smooth curtain down Hizashi's back as he spun around in the grass. Arms stretched out to his sides with hands and face turned towards the sky, there was the purest smile of happiness on Hizashi's lips that Shouta hadn't glimpsed in so long as it was slowly dimmed and darkened by life.

A loud roar of thunder overhead only made Hizashi laugh louder as he caught sight of Shouta leaning up against their jeep and watching him with an indescribable expression mixed with awe and love. Reaching his hands out to his lover in a silent request Hizashi had to wonder how much of a mess he must have looked like with his t-shirt transparently plastered to his body, his hair sticking to his skin, and mud splattering up his legs from all of his spinning.

Warm hands slipped into the outstretched ones with no hesitation before bringing them up to brush against a scruffy chin so that several baby kisses could be placed on their knuckles.

"You are so beautiful."

* * *

The dreariness of the sudden rainstorm carried over to the next morning, driving Hizashi to steal one of Shouta's comfy long sleeved shirts that he'd wear even if it was far too hot for the map in mounting suspicion and confusion, Hizashi's mind was piecing together their probable destinations until he finally decided that it didn't matter. The map was folded up and tucked resolutely away into the glove department as the blond decided to just keep enjoying the ride and be surprised by wherever they ended up when the time came. With his elbow leaning on the middle console and his cheek resting in his hand, Hizashi was filling his fidget quota by playing with the radio dial even though he knew how much it irritated the man shooting little glares at him.

A slow, sad beat began streaming through the car speakers and stilled the fingers on the dial. Shouta's irritation turned into concern when he recognized the song as one that had been on the radio frequently enough for Hizashi to have heard before but the blond remained silent, choosing to instead rest his head on Shouta's shoulder as his hands dropped to his lap and his eyes stared unseeingly out the windshield. It was still early enough in the day that even though they were back on the highway there weren't many cars to worry about so Shouta let himself really listen to the lyrics pouring out of the speakers.

The words struck something that had long ago died within Shouta's chest, gently fanning it back to life for a few breaths to remind him of what it felt like when it was still a new feeling that had threatened to consume him at the time. Hizashi's unusual behavior made Shouta wonder if maybe he'd been feeling the same thing years ago and was currently reminiscing just like he was.

"You know," Shouta had to break what felt like sad silence, he couldn't stand seeing Hizashi down if he could help it. "If you really had just been a phase for me, at this point you'd be the longest phase anyone has ever been through in history." That did the trick as Hizashi turned his face into Shouta's shoulder with a surprised laugh.

"No, I know, silly. I'm not at all worried about that anymore." A pale hand half covered by sleeves that were a tad bit too long for the arms they were covering playfully smacked Shouta's side. "There was a point, though, a few months after we started dating after the initial excitement wore off that I had to wonder sometimes. It kind of scared me, thinking that maybe I was feeling more than you did." Hizashi's voice was quiet but more reflective than anything as he thought through his thoughts. "You can't tell me that on paper I'd be your type."

"Nor am I yours." Shouta parried with a challenging raise of his brow.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Hizashi scoffed. "First time I walked into class and saw you, I knew. No, really! Stop laughing at me, I'm being serious!" It took a few minutes, a lot of glaring, and a few sharp smacks for Shouta to get over the utter cliche that had come out of his boyfriend's mouth. "Seriously, you were just sitting there all dark and handsome with a book in your face and your grumpy demeanor in place."

"Sounds attractive."

"I thought so." Hizashi stuck his tongue out, grumpy that Shouta was putting his high school self down even though Hizashi could still clearly remember how his breath caught in his throat that morning. "You were the smartest in class, second in ability only because we had Toshi in our class, and you were a nice guy as long as no one was watching you." The scrunching of Shouta's nose at that statement was adorable. "You always seemed lonely, though, and honestly at first I really just wanted to be your friend so that you wouldn't look so alone anymore."

Okay, there was nothing that Shouta could say in response to that one.

"It wasn't until Hise, who of course could tell right away, kept pushing me to woo you that I started doing...stupid things to get your attention…" Well, at least Hizashi was just as embarrassed about those memories as Shouta was. "Sometimes I think Hise wanted us to get together more than I did." Hizashi laughed before his demeanor settled down as a sad tinge entered his voice. "I wish he had gotten to know you as more than the guy who kept turning me down. I think you two would have gotten along really well."

Taking a hand off of the wheel to seek out one of Hizashi's, Shouta gave it a tight squeeze to tell him that it was okay for him to stop talking for a bit so that he could just remember and miss his old friend.

"We both loved you, so I'm sure we'd have been able to at least stand each other. Eventually." A squeeze back to Shouta's hand and a quick chuckle told him that he'd said the right thing .

"What about you, Aizawa-kun? How did a loud, obnoxious blond who was the opposite of your type manage to win your affections?" Hizashi's voice was teasing as he scooted closer, pressing his cheek up against Shouta's.

"You'll never know." A hand firmly pushed Hizashi back to his side of the car as Shouta flipped the turn signal on to exit the highway.

"What?! Not fair!" Hizashi was all ready to keep whining about Shouta holding out on him when a brightness in his eyes distracted him as the sun began to break through the light cloud cover. Glancing out the window, Hizashi suddenly sat up straighter as the sight he saw mesmerized him. "Shouta…?"

"Hang on."

Less than five minutes off of the highway and they pulled off of the road to enter a small parking lot that looked like it could use some maintenance. The gravel was losing a war with random pops of greenery that were poking through and faded yellow lines barely did their job of designating parking spots, but just beyond that was a stretch of sand that led to endless blue that went as far out as the naked eye could see.

"Come on." Shouta prompted as he turned the car off and opened his door. Not even bothering to slip his flip flops back on, Hizashi was quick to follow suit.

Warm, salty air hit his face as soon as he stepped out of the car and he pulled his hair up to prevent it from getting tangled around his face. Taking Shouta's hand and letting himself be led onto the cool sand, Hizashi closed his eyes and trusted that he'd be led straight as the sound of crashing waves and the odd gull screeching mingled with the smell of ocean and the warmth of sun. The overcast start to the day made it so that the beach was fairly deserted, but with the sun starting to make an appearance it probably wouldn't be long until people would appear to enjoy the day. For now, however, it was basically just the two of them on their own private beach as they walked towards the edge where land and water met.

"You did always say that you wanted to see the ocean." Shouta's warm voice was closer than Hizashi had expected and as he opened his eyes again he found them stopped right by the ocean and facing each other.

"Shouta...you're not dying, are you?" Despite his dead serious tone and genuine worry Hizashi still got a light smack to his head and an exasperated sigh.

"No, Hizashi." Shouta huffed before pulling Hizashi in by the collar of his stolen shirt to kiss the wonderfully crazy man who had traveled with him three days across the country without a single question asked. It was a slow, simple press of lips that didn't need to be turned into anything more as their arms wrapped around each other. "Sixteen years ago today was the first time you kissed me."

Jerking back with his arms still around Shouta's waist, Hizashi stammered several incoherent words before he finally managed to string together something intelligent. "You remember the date? After all these years?"

"You changed my life that day." Shouta admitted simply as he caught a wayward strand of hair that had escaped Hizashi's ponytail to tuck it back in place. "I never thought I'd find someone like you but then there you were. I wanted to do something for you to thank you for staying beside me and for loving me for this long."

"You idiot." Hizashi was _not_ crying, absolutely not. He was just crushing Shouta close in a tight hug as he willed away the tears that were _not_ flowing from his eyes, because he was thirty-one years old damn it and a sweet gesture like this was not going to turn him into a teenager again. "There is nothing to thank me for. I love you, you dummy. You've given me so much, I should be the one thanking you."

The warm laugh that preluded a kiss to his forehead and each of his closed eyelids told Hizashi that his mental insistence that he wasn't crying didn't fool Shouta.

"I love you, too, Hizashi. Happy sixteen years."

They stood like that in each other's embrace as the sun chased away the clouds and warmed the sand beneath their feet. The rush of the ocean paired with the steady pulse in Hizashi's ear as he snuggled against Shouta's neck with his eyes turned towards the ocean.

"I wanna go play in the water."

"I'm not surprised."

"Come with me?"

"Always."


End file.
